Wire guide for wire rolling mills



April 14, 1970 YASUYOSHO OO KA WA WIRE GUIDE FOR WIRE ROLLING MILLSFiled Oct. 20, 1967 lNVEN TOR.

United States Patent US. Cl. 72-229 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA wire rolling mill having a first roll means for treating a wire as itmoves in a first direction through the first roll means and a secondroll means located adjacent the first roll means for further treatingthe wire as it moves in a second direction, which is opposed to thefirst direction, through the second roll means. A wire guide means issituated on the same side of both of the roll means for receiving andguiding the wire as it moves in the first direction from the first rollmeans and for guiding the wire in the second direction to the secondroll means. A stationary deflecting means is operatively connected withthis wire guide means to automatically deflect the wire as it moves inthe second direction toward the second roll means so that the wire willbe reliably received by the latter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to wirerolling mills.

In particular, the present invention relates to that type of wirerolling mill where a wire moves in a first direction through a firstroll means which will treat the wire and where the wire then moves in asecond direction,

which is opposed to the first direction, through a second roll meanswhere the wire is further treated. Thus, after the wire is treated bythe first roll means its direction of movement is reversed and the wireis then further treated by the second roll means.

With conventional constructions of this type, considerable difficulty isencountered in switching the wire from the first to the second rollmeans. Thus, when the direction of movement of the wire is reversed sothat it will pass through the second roll means, the wire has to beswitched over into alignment with the second roll means to be properlyreceived thereby. For this purpose it is conventional to provide movablechutes or troughs for switching the wire from one to the other of theroll means when the direction of movement of the wire is reversed, andthese movable structures include devices such as tilting tables to guidethe wire in the rolling mill toward the treating rolls.

In operation, however, such wire guiding structure which includes, forexample, movable chutes, have proved to be highly unsatisfactory sinceit is necessary to provide the structure with a drive, such as apneumatically operated cylinder, for switching the chute from one pathto another path, so that this construction is highly complicated and itis costly to manufacture. Furthermore, faulty operations are frequentlyencountered with these constructions, and it is inconvenient tolubricate them and to replace worn out parts. In addition, there is aloss in production resulting from the time required to switch such amovable chute.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of thepresent invention to provide a construction which will avoid the abovedrawbacks.

3,505,850 Patented Apr. 14, 1970 In particular, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a structure which not only will reliablydirect the wire to the proper roll means but which in addition iscomposed exclusively of a stationary structure which does not requireany drive means and which does not require any maintenance such aslubrication or replacement of parts.

In accordance with the invention the wire guiding structure is used witha wire rolling mill which has a first roll means for treating the wireas it moves in a first direction through the first roll means and asecond roll means for further treating the wire as it moves in a seconddirection, which is opposed to the first direction, through the secondroll means. A guide means is provided on the same side of both of theroll means to receive and guide the wire as it moves in the firstdirection from the first roll means and to guide the wire toward thesecond roll means as the Wire moves in the second direction, and inaccordance with the present invention a stationary deflecting means issituated in the path of movement of the wire in the second directiontoward the second roll means for deflecting the wire to the second rollmeans so that the wire will be properly received thereby.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings which form part of this applicationand in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top plan view of one possible embodiment of astructure according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the structure of FIG. 1;and

FIG. 3 is an elevation of the pair of roll means which treat the wire,FIG. 3 showing the rolls as they appear when seen from the left side ofFIGS. 1 and 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,the wire rolling mill structure illustrated therein includes a firstroll means made up of the lower roll 2 and the right portion of theintermediate roll 3, as viewed in FIG. 3, and a second roll means madeup of the left portion of the intermediate roll 3, as viewed in FIG. 3,and the upper roll 5. The rolls 2 and 3 are suitably grooved so as toform the first wiretreating portions 1 and 1' either one of which may beselected for treatment of the wire depending upon the desired treatmentby the first roll means. In the same way, the second roll means hasgrooved portions defining the pair of wire-treating regions 4 and 4either one of which may be selectively used.

Situated on the same side of both of the roll means, namely the leftside, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, is a guide means 6 which receives thewire as it moves in a firstdirection B from the first roll means intowhich it advances in the direction of the arrow A shown at the right ofFIG. 2, and the guide means 6 also serves to guide the wire in thesecond direction C, which is opposed to the direction B, as the wiremoves along the guide means 6 iii this second direction C to the secondroll means. As the wire moves in the second direction C along the guidemeans 6 to the second roll means, a deflecting means 20 of the inventionacts automatically to deflect the wire to the second roll means.

The guide means 6 includes a guide chute 9 which is spaced from the pairor roll means. A first feed chute 7 forms a first portion of the guidemeans and extends between the first roll means and the guide chute 9 fordirecting the wire from the first roll means to the guide chute 9 of theguide means 6, and it will be noted that the bottom wall 8 of the feedchute 7 is situated at an elevation higher than the bottom wall of theguide chute 9. 1n the illustrated example the dilference between theelevations of the bottom walls of the feed chute 7 and the guide chute 9is equal to about twice the diameter of the wire rod 24 which istreated. The bottom walls of the feed chute 7 and the guide chute 9 areintegrally connected with each other by the deflecting means 20 which isfixedly connected with both of these bottom walls and which defines ashoulder therebetween, as described in greater detail below.

The guide means 6 includes a second feed chute 10 forming a secondportion of the guide means and extending between the guide chute 9 andthe second roll means for directing the wire, as it moves in thedirection C, from the guide chute 9 to the second roll means. Inasmuchas this second roll means is at an elevation higher than the first rollmeans, the second feed chute 10 is inclined with respect to the firstfeed chute 7, but the end of the bottom wall 11 of the second chute 10which is adjacent the guide chute 9 is situated approximately at thesame elevation as the bottom wall of the guide chute 9. However, ifdesired, this latter end of the bottom wall 11 which is adjacent theguide chute 9 can terminate at an elevation somewhat lower than theelevation of the bottom wall of the guide chute 9.

As was indicated above the second roll means includes the wire-treatingportions 4 and 4' either one of which may be selected for treating thewire, and in order to direct the wire to one or the other of thesewiretreating portions of the second roll means, the feed chute 10 ispivotally mounted. Thus, the end portion of the bottom wall 11 which isadjacent the guide chute 9 is fixed to a vertically extending pivot pin12 which extends downwardly through and beyond an opening in asupporting arm or bracket 14 which is fied to the frame 13 of themachine, and the bottom end of the pivot pin 12 is threaded to receive anut 18 which can be tightened to fix the feed chute 10 at a selectedposition. The upper end of the feed chute 10 fixedly carries a pin 15which extends vertically down through an arcuate slot 17 which extendsalong a circle whose center is in the axis of the pin 12. This slot 17is formed in a support member 16 of the machine frame, and the uppersurface of member 16 is inclined so as to match the inclination of thebottom wall 11. In the same way, the pin 12 is fixed at its top end to ablock which turns on the arm 14 and which has an upper inclined surfacefixed directly to the bottom surface of the wall 11 and having the sameinclination as the latter. The bottom end of the pin 15 is threaded andcarries a nut 19. Thus, the second feed chute 10 can be selectivelypositioned either in the solid or in the dot-dash line positionsindicate din FIG. 1, so that the wire can be selectively directed to oneor the other of the wire-treating portions of the second roll means, andwhen the position of the second feed chute 10 has been selected, thenuts 18 and 19 can be tightened to maintain it in the selected position.

As is apparent from FIG. 1, the deflecting means 20 which is formed bythe step or shoulder which is integral with and formed between thebottom walls of the first feed chute 7 and the guide chute 9, isstraight and has at its end which is adjacent to the second feed chute10 a distance from the pair or roll means which is less than thedistance between the other end of the deflecting means 20 and the pairof feed roll means, this other end of the deflecting means 20 beingsituated at the region of the outer side edge of the guide means 6. Inone construction of the invention satisfactory results have beenachieved by making the inclination of the deflecting means 20 equal toan angle 0 with a straight line 21 extending perpendicularly withrespect to the directions B and C which is on the order of 50. Thus, itwill be seen that the stationary deflecting means 20 serves to deflectthe wire transversely from the first portion of the guide means formedby the first chute 7 to the second portion of the guide means formed bythe second chute 10.

At the end of the guide means 6 which is distant from the roll means,there is a transfer chute 22 where feed rolls 23 and 23 are located.These rolls include the lower idler 23 and an upper driving roll 23',driven from any suitable source, and the upper roll 23' is adjustable ina vertical direction so that the wire 24 after having passed through thefirst roll means to be treated either at the treating portion 1 or thetreating portion 1 thereof will continue to be fed in the direction ofthe arrow B by the feed rolls 23, 23'.

Thus, during operation the wire 24 will be treated at the first rollmeans, arriving at the latter in the direction of the arrow A, and afterpassing through the first roll means the wire moves in the direction Bthrough the guide means 6 to the transfer chute 22 to be received by thefeed rolls 23, 23. After the wire has been treated by the first rollmeans, the direction of rotation of the feed rolls 23, 23' is reversedso that the Wire will not be fed in the opposed direction C, and theleading end of the wire will now be received by the treating portion 4or the treating portion 4 of the second roll means to be further treatedthereby. Transfer or switching of the wire from the first feed chute 7to the second feed chute 10 is smoothly and automatically brought aboutby the stationary deflecting means 20.

It is possible for both of the treating portions 1 and 1' to have thesame configuration so that one of these treating portions can be usedafter the other is worn out, and the same is true of the treatingportions 4 and 4' of the second roll means. On the other hand, thetreating portions 1 and 1 can have different configurations, and thesame is true of the treating portions 4 and 4', so that it is possibleto select a desired treatment at either one of the roll means.

It is to be noted that the rolls 2, 3, 5 are driven in any suitable way,the intermediate roll 3 being driven by its engagement with the otherrolls.

In the solid line position of the chute 10 which is indicated in FIG. 1,this second feed chute 10 will direct the wire 24 to the treatingportion 4 of the second roll means, but if desired the chute 10 can beshifted to the dot-dash line position indiacted in FIG. 1, so that nowthe wire will be received by the treating portion 4.

Thus, with the structure of the present invention the wire is guidedfrom one roll means of the wire rolling mill to the other roll meansthereof without requiring any movable chutes or power-operated structurein order to switch the wire from the one to the other roll means.Therefore, the construction is greatly simplified and the cost thereofis reduced while at the same time a source of faulty operation iseliminated and maintenance such as lubrication of parts and replacementof parts is avoided. In addition, any loss of production due to theswitching of a movable deflecting structure is eliminated. The inclineddeflecting step or shoulder 20 assures a smoothly operating transfer ofthe wire so that it will be reliably received by the second feed chute10 to be delivered thereby to the second roll means.

While the structure of the invention has been described in connection.with a particular embodiment thereof, it is apparent that improvementsand modifications may be made without departing from the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wire rolling mill, first roll means for treating a wire as itmoves in a first direction through said first roll means, second rollmeans located adjacent but displaced laterally with respect to saidfirst roll means for further treating the wire as it moves in a seconddirection, opposed to said first direction, through said second rollmeans, guide means situated on one side of both of said roll means andhaving a first portion for receiving and guiding the wire as it moves insaid first direction from said first roll means and having a secondportion laterally displaced with respect to said first portion forguiding the wire in said second direction to said second roll means, andstationary deflecting means operatively connected with said guide meansfor automatically deflecting the wire transversely from said first tosaid second portion of said guide means as it moves in said seconddirection to said second roll means.

2. In a wire rolling mill, first roll means for treating a wire as itmoves in a first direction through said first roll means, second rollmeans located adjacent said first roll means for further treating thewire as it moves in 5 second direction, opposed to said first direction,through said second roll means, guide means situated on one side of bothof said roll means for receiving and guiding the wire as it moves insaid first direction from said first roll means and for guiding the wirein said second direction to said second roll means, and stationarydeflecting means operatively connected with said guide means forautomatically deflecting the Wire as it moves in said second directionto said second roll means, said guide means including an elongated guidechute spaced from both of said roll means, a first feed chute extendingbetween said first roll means and said guide chute and a second feedchute extending between said second roll means and said guide chute,said first feed chute having adjacent said guide chute a bottom wallhigher than a bottom wall of said guide chute and said deflecting meansinterconnecting the bottom Walls of said first feed chute and said guidechute and being inclined with respect to said first and seconddirections for deflecting a Wire moving in said second direction awayfrom said first feed chute and into said second feed chute.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said feed chutes are locatedbeside each other and said deflecting means having adjacent said secondfeed chute an end nearer to said first and second roll means than anopposed end of said deflecting means which is distant from said secondfeed chute.

4. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said defleeting means issubstantially straight and makes an angle of approximately with astraight line extending perpendicularly across both of said directionsof move ment of the wire.

5. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said deflecting means is fixedon the one hand to said guide chute and on the other hand to said firstfeed chute for fixedly connecting said guide chute and first feed chuteto each other.

6. The combination of claim 5 and wherein said deflecting means forms ashoulder situated between said guide chute and first feed chute.

7. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said second roll means has apair of wire-treating portions, and said second feed chute beingpivotally connected to said guide chute for selective movement tolocations which will direct the wire in said second direction to one orthe other of said Wire-treating portions of said second roll means.

8. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said first and second rollmeans are respectively at different eFevations, and said second feedchute being inclined with respect to said first feed chute for directingthe wire from the elevation of the first feed chute to the elevation ofthe second roll means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 746,886 12/1903 Slick 7222QLOWELL A. LARSON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. 72250

